


be your watchword

by suganii (feints)



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Hijinks & Shenanigans, i just have strong feelings about johzenji im sorry, just johzenji being johzenji, terushima is hiding a ~secret~ oooh, you get johzenji gen. you get johzenji gen. yOU ALL GET JOHZENJI GEN.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2020-11-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:55:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27762613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/feints/pseuds/suganii
Summary: Terushima Yuuji is hiding something. His teammates try to figure out what.
Relationships: Terushima Yuuji & Johzenji Volleyball Club
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19
Collections: HQ Minor Teams Fanweek 2020





	be your watchword

Izaka notices it first. Terushima’s been hanging around with their first-year manager Runa a _lot_ lately, but Bobata and Futamata haven’t said anything about it so he hasn’t said anything either. He’s not so sure it’s his place to, anyway. It doesn’t seem like his captain’s trying anything funny.

Still, he can’t help but rib him a little, sidling up to him one day after practice and giving him a friendly shove. “Getting cosy with Runa-san, are we?” he teases.

Terushima merely shrugs, but the spark in his eyes says he’s excited about something, and it sparks Izaka’s curiosity in turn. “Nah, man, it’s not like that. I’m just working on something.”

“Really?”

Terushima just grins. “Yeah. You’ll see. It’s a surprise.”

—

Tsuchiyu’s the next one to wonder about it. Ever since Karasuno defeated them in the Spring High Qualifiers, Terushima’s taken to analysing their plays from time to time, searching for something they can adapt into their own style. One of those things had been the libero set—

( _“There, he’s doing it again!” Terushima pointed enthusiastically at the computer screen. Everyone crowded in closer. “That move, did you see it? Cool, right?”_

_Even Futamata had wolf-whistled at that, while Numajiri had lifted an eyebrow: a clear sign that he was impressed._

_“So, whaddya say, Tsucchi?” Terushima had turned to him then, grin wide and guileless, rubbing his hands together like a kid who had just discovered a new toy. “Wanna try it out?”_ )

—and since that discovery, Terushima’s been staying behind to work with Tsuchiyu on refining it. In Tsuchiyu’s mind, it’s honestly not too different from what they’re already doing; besides Futamata, their standard setter, Higashiyama’s pretty good at making sets too, and Numajiri and Terushima aren’t far behind. It’s basically been one of their trademarks: the fact that anyone who can set on their team will.

But Tsuchiyu likes it anyway, the importance that it settles on his shoulders. He’s often been told he’s the player who least stands out on the team—not by anyone _on_ the team, of course, but some of the old alumni who come by to watch their games like to say that to him, for some reason—and he doesn’t mind gaining a positive association to things, for once.

Terushima’s been supportive of that. Which is why it strikes him as odd when Terushima blows him off for the third time in a row, on a Thursday evening with an ungodly cold wind beating against the gym doors, loud enough for all of them to hear it from the inside. His captain, though, already has a windbreaker on and is all zipped up, stray strands of blonde wisps sticking out from his beanie as he waves at Tsuchiyu from the door. He’s bouncing on the balls of his feet as he says, “I’ve got to pick something up, sorry Tsucchi. Jiri and Haru’ll practice with you today, yeah?”

“Sure,” Tsuchiyu nods. He hardly gets the time to reply before Terushima’s off and out the door, with neither Bobata or Futamata by his side.

And he can’t shake the feeling that something might be a little off.

—

A day later, Numajiri actually goes to confront Terushima, in the way that only he can do. “Is something up?” he asks while they’re taking a water break. They’re at a practice game with Niiyama Tech, one of their last ones before the tournament. This is the game where they’re putting all the new plays they’d been practicing together, so everyone on the team’s pretty hyped. Everyone, that is, except for Terushima, who’s seated himself on the ground with his knees pulled up to his chest, smiling softly at something on his phone.

Terushima looks up, a little distracted. “Wha-?” he asks, before gathering his wits. “Nah, Jiri, I’m peachy. Peachy _keen_.”

Numajiri would take a picture of that godawful smirk, but unlike _some_ people, he doesn’t always have his phone on him. Instead he just wrinkles his nose. “Firstly, eww, please don’t ever say that to me again. And you’re being weird. Weirder than normal.”

“Ouch, you’re killing me here, Jiri.” Terushima puts a hand to his chest, but when Numajiri merely responds with his normal dead-eyed stare, Terushima gives up. “I’m just… working on something, is all.”

It’s not like Terushima to be vague at all. “Is it a girlfriend?” Numajiri prods.

“Pfft, no.”

“A boyfriend, then.”

“Jeez, Jiri, do you honestly think so low of me? If I had a partner, girl or otherwise, don’t you think I’d be telling you about it?”

“Bragging, more like,” Numajiri mutters, “and you’d tell Haru and Kazuma first.”

“Aww, jealous?”

“Not really. So is it?”

Terushima sets his phone down by his bottle and stands, stretching as he does. “Nope,” he finally says, dragging out the syllable for far longer than he needs to.

And he remains tight-lipped about it for the rest of the game, dodging every single one of Numajiri’s few and half-hearted attempts to pry.

—

“Teruuuuuuuuu,” Higashiyama collapses dramatically onto his desk at recess, looking up at him pitifully from where half his cheek is squashed onto the hard plastic. Terushima raises a perfectly arched eyebrow, looking down his nose at him as he whines. “Won’t you tell us what you’re planning already, Captain?”

“Yeah,” Futamata plops down onto the adjacent seat, maneuvering it around so that his head and hands are leaning forward on the backrest as he faces Terushima. “What diabolical scheme have you cooked up this time?”

Bobata’s elbow digs into his shoulder as he bites into an onigiri a little noisily above him. “Is it the swimming club again? I vote we dye their stupid pool red this time.”

“No, no, no, that’d be letting them off too easy, the stuck-up pricks.” Futamata waves a finger in the air as Terushima watches, amused. “I say we hide their gear.”

“We already tried that?” Terushima reminds them, and in a second, everyone’s attention refocuses on him again. He should’ve kept his mouth shut, he supposes.

“So it _is_ the swimming club?” Futamata leans forward in his chair, the chair tipping precariously on two legs.

Terushima rolls his eyes. “Nah, not this time.”

Futamata swings his chair back.

“Is it the basketball club president?” Higashiyama guesses.

The chair swings forward again.

“No.”

And back.

“The lady who manages the drinks stall?”

“She’s evil, that one,” Futamata adds with a shudder. The chair stays in place this time, Terushima notes..

“An oni in disguise,” Bobata agrees through a crunch. Terushima wrinkles his nose as bits of nori land on his face.

“Maybe eventually,” Terushima muses, “but no.”

Futamata groans.

“C’mon Teru, are you actually fucking with us?”

Terushima regards them all solemnly for a moment, before bursting out into laughter. “You should see the look on your faces.”

“Teru.” Bobata digs his elbow in harder, sprinkling bits of rice on Terushima’s hair as he moves, and Terushima winces.

“Okay, ouch, I give, I give.”

When Bobata relents with a final ruffle through Terushima’s hair, his fingers sticky from what Terushima assumes is rice and nori wrap, he grimaces. “It’s something for the team,” he admits.

“Uh huh.” Futamata cocks his head at him sceptically. “And you’re suuure this won’t do anything to affect our chances for the tournament this weekend.”

“As if I’d ever risk that,” Terushima scoffs, offended. “ _Trust_ me, Haru, Higa, Kazuma.” He smirks, leaning back and meeting Bobata’s gaze. “The best surprise is a real surprise right?”

—

In the end, he manages to keep everything under wraps, which is a first for Terushima. It only gets him more pumped as Anabara-san gives his short but good-natured speech to the team, and he sits on the floor with the rest, leg bouncing with impatience. The Interhigh Preliminaries start tomorrow and Terushima knows his team is as prepared as they can be, but it’s not like he’s been blind to the slight undercurrent of tension that’s now circulating around everyone. Everyone’s feeling the pressure a little, which he supposes is probably a good thing.

He gets it, he really does. For the first time, they’re playing with something to lose. For the first time, they’re all thinking seriously about winning—that’s why this is his time as captain to shine. Believe it or not, he does have good ideas now and then. It’s time to remind his team there’s a reason why they are the way they are; he wouldn’t have them any other way!

(He does not wonder what Okudake-san, their old captain, would say if he saw Terushima now. Hopefully not something about how he’s all grown up, which Terushima would absolutely despise. Probably…)

Anabara-san ends with a nod, and that’s Terushima’s cue. He slowly gets to his feet, clears his throat and places a hand on his hips.

“Thank you, Coach. So everyone, I know you’ve been really curious what I’ve been up to, and I promise it’s probably not been anything you’ve been thinking. Runa-san,” he pronounces dramatically, waving his hands in a flourish as he does, “if you please.”

Runa is already carrying a large black canvas bag into the room. She sets it down onto the floor and, unzipping the bag quickly, fishes out a yellow cloth wrapped in shiny plastic film from the bag. With Terushima holding up one end, she unrolls the long stretch of yellow fabric, stepping backwards until the whole thing is unrolled and holding it up for the entire team to read.

There’s kanji printed in black ink on the cloth. The team stares, gobsmacked, looking first at Terushima, who’s now sporting a shit-eating grin, and then back at the banner held in front of them. Even Numajiri is speechless.

“Got this idea a couple of days ago,” Terushima remarks, cutting into the little bubble of silence, and everyone’s gazes dart his way as he continues, “I just thought it might be time for us to finally do away with the old one. Get one that’s truer to our spirit, you know? And, like,” he says, flapping a hand around emphatically, “I know we’ve all gotten a bit more serious about volleyball recently, which is cool and all, but everyone, I don’t think we should forget.” He holds out a fist with a free hand, pointing it toward them. “Above all things, volleyball is a game!”

“Duh,” Bobata says, but somehow all the boys have gotten up and closed in on Terushima now, and they’re all holding hands and Futamata and Tsuchiyu are wiping tears from their eyes.

“I didn’t think you had it in you,” Numajiri comments, his eyes just a tad shiny. “Good speech, captain.”

“What the hell?” Terushima says, offended.

“Dude, this is the nicest thing you’ve ever done,” Izaka wails. “Are you really Teru?”

“This is very thoughtful of you, Terushima,” Anabara-san cuts in from somewhere behind Terushima’s shoulder before he can retort, making Terushima blush a little. It’s not as if he hasn’t always been this good-hearted, guys, come on.

“Er, thank you Coach,” he says, ducking his head.

He reads everyone’s intent a second before it happens. In a panic, he scrunches the cloth in his hands. “Runa-san, catch!”

He throws the cloth in her direction not a moment too soon.

“T-Terushima!” Tsuchiyu says, jumping on him first. Naturally, everyone else follows suit, jumping one after another at him.

Soon they’ve all formed a dogpile on top of him, everyone laughing, including Runa and even Anabara-san, and Terushima finds himself in the middle of a very intense group hug. “You-you idiots! You could’ve squashed the banner,” he says, indignant.

“Shush, you. We’re having a moment.”

“A costly moment!”

“C-C-Captainnnnnn!”

Amidst a ruckus of cries and cheers, Terushima finds himself laughing, in joy, in relief. Yeah, he thinks they’re ready for tomorrow. His team are going to take the tournament by storm.

—

Beside them, the words spell in black kanji splashed over a yellow cloth, “Create A Playground.”

(Okudake-san would, indeed, have been very proud.)

**Author's Note:**

> For HQ Minor Teams Week, Day 4: Johzenji | Banners.


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